3. Listen To What People Are Saying About Your Business

It not only helps you understand the needs of your audience but also allows you to counter any negative campaigns that your competitors might run against you.

There are several ways you can keep an eye on what people are saying about you.

Google Alerts: Set up Google alerts for your company name and other brand keywords so that any time there’s a new page about your brand you get notified about it.

Also set up alerts for the names of your leadership team and any common misspelling of your brand name.

Social Media Monitoring: Search your brand name on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ or any other networks where your audience is more active. There are several free tools you can use to automate this process and get alerts every time someone mentions you on social media.

Things happen quickly on the web so you always need to keep an eye on what’s being said about you and react in a timely manner.

Shopify is a great example. Their E-commerce blog has helped them build a strong reputation and is considered as one of the best in the industry.

Regular blogging is also the most cost effective way of staying on top of Google search results on competitive keywords.

5. Associate Yourself With Credible Publications and Platforms

An old fashioned, but highly effective, way of building a strong reputation is to associate yourself with trusted and credible platforms in your industry.

There are several ways you can do that.

Guest Blogging:

Feature on the top publications and blogs in your industry as a guest author. In fact, guest blogging benefits you in several other ways as well.

It exposes your content to a much bigger audience and helps you expand your network.

Client Testimonials:

Display the logos and testimonials of the clients who’re well-known in your industry. This instantly makes you trustworthy and boosts your reputation

Influencer Outreach:

“A man is known by the company he keeps”, this applies to brands and businesses as well.

When you build connections and relationships with influential people in your industry, you effectively borrow their credibility.

Review Sites and Forums:

Online review platforms like Yelp, Google+, Facebook reviews and industry specific forums are also crucial for the reputation of your business. You need to find ways to generate positive reviews and discussions about your brand.

6. Create a Strong Profile of Your Leadership Team

The reputation of your founders and leadership team has a direct impact on your brand’s reputation. You can’t separate the two from each other. This is why many companies display the social media profiles of their founders on their web sites

You can’t control how all your employees use social media. But you should, at the very least, have a set of guidelines for your top leadership team on managing their Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social media profiles.

Modern day consumers don’t differentiate between the personal and professional lives of brand owners and founders.

If the personal social media profiles of your top decision makers have anything that your consumers find offensive, your company’s reputation is likely to suffer.

7. Avoid Arguments and Be Prepared to Apologize

No matter how hard you try, you will always have a few bad reviews and dissatisfied customers from time to time.

You need to accept that as a part of business and handle such reviews with care.

The worst thing you could do for your brand’s reputation is to start arguing with dissatisfied customers online. People don’t like brands that fight and argue with their clients.

Be kind and respectful in your responses, and try to keep the relationship with your customer intact.

And in case there’s a genuine complaint, never be shy to apologize and compensate. It does wonders for your reputation.

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